Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-06-01
A MOUNTAIN OF MARBLE.
The Famous Quarries of Carrara ,"
the Alps.

sthC %hsl'os
TIE city OF Carrara nestles under the
protection of its mountains. the Apuan
Alps, a corner of the Apennines: Sono no
of these, rising to the height Oh 1,ooo
feet. oyershadow the north Of the town.
while 10 the right and left they are
| softeuei down to hills, richly clotheu
! with fir. chestnut, olive trees and vines
| in descending scale; to the south Is q
gap of about furlong, through whicn
winds the river AvenZa, and Deyonu
the six miles of intervening country
| the blue Mediterranean can De seen.
The auarries are one of the sights OF
the world, occupying three or four
descending ridges, which unite IN the
lofty Monte SagrO. They have Deeh
worked at latest from the time OF the
Emperor Augustus. From then until
| now all the best marble has been oo-
tanned from them.
The mountains of marble In some
places seem to rise almost perpendlcu-
| larly: high up their sides are the quar-
ries or "cayes,'' as they are locally
called. presenting from the town the
appearance OF patches OIL snow wnlCn
! refuse to be melted by the sun, whiie
sometimes it seems as though partially
dissolved snow had begun to slide
down the mountain side.
To see the quarries, and the mode IN
which the sscaye man" works, says
writer, one must be up with him IN the
morning, and follow him to his toll as
did.
We were Just in time to see a huge
corner of marble, weighing about
hundred tons. forced from the noun
tain. Round it men have driven
chain of holes with crowbars, shaped
at the point like chisel. BY striking
the surface and dexterously turning
the bar at each stroke hole Is soon
formed about three feet into solid rock,
thus isolating the desired mass as much
as possible. Into these holes gunpow-
der is placed by boy, who invariably
performs his task with a lighted cigar
In his mouth Clay is then rammed
In. a train laid and warning shout
raised. We betake ourselves to some
such shelter as an overhanging rock or
small cave; the foreman gives another
shout, applies the match to the tram
and runs for his life. A few moments
of anxious waiting-the whole moun-
tain seems to shake, thunder and groan
in agony at having to give up Its treas
ures-a cloud of dust-a rumble OF
falling pieces-we creep out in time to
see two masses of marble tumbllng over
the last ridge on their way to the val
ley.
The explosive power in this instance
had been nicely calculated-the huge
mass had been just loosened. Some
times the moving force Of the charge
is underestImated, then the whole
block topples over. often to pound
itself into hundreds Of pieces in Its
headlong course down the ravine.
Being too heavy and large to be
moved entire, it is divided in the slmp-
lest way, row of holes bored across
il Ia line chiseled between them), plugs
of dry wood driven into the holes,
water poured upon them and in time,
the wood having swollen, the block
cracks across and through. Men then
90 10 work upon each half with ham,
mer and chisel until they are made tol-
erably square, huge cables or chains
are fastened around them, and they
are lowered by short stages from ledge
to ledge to the wagons waiting below.
The ''cave" men are surely almost as
primi i've and hardy in their habits
as their historic name esakes; many OF
them live in the hamlets among the
hills, six or eight miles from their
work; they leave their homes at day
break, each equipped with pair of
thick boots which are never worn at
home, gourd slunS by his side, to be
filed at the mountain stream he passes,
4 hunk of coarse bread under his arm,
possibly an apple in his pocket. On
this food he exists during the day,
earning about two shilllngs, and work
ing much harder than a steak-fed En-
glish navy. In the evening at home he
sups on a mash of meal, mingled with
oil and favored with the never-failing
garlic; meat he seldom if ever tastes,
On Festa days only does he drink any
thing stronger than water; then he
will spend as much and even more than
he can afford on cheap wine. Almost
every Festa brings with it q quarrel,
and the evening its inevitable result
"a stabbing affray.
OF the 10000 inhabitants living In
Carrara and its immediate neighbor-
hood. about 6 goo are ''cave" men; the
town is entirely devoted to the marble
commerce, marble stares you in the
face everywhere, the walls. roads and
paths are made of it, the floors of the
house are paved with it, everything
that can be hewn out of marble, from
perfect copy Of the Venus to the
common bathing tub" as a local ad-
vertisement has it. Countless copies
of the antique are sent out from the
400 studios and find their way to the
various art markets of Europe and
America. Occasionally a, good original
statue or bust Is executed. but the
greater number of sculptors devote
themselves to reproducing copies either
of the old masters, popular modern ex-
amples or chiseling sepulchral monu-
ments.